Many levels of balconies can be seen aboard Carnival Dream. Cruise ship lines have added more and more balconies, but they were nearly unheard of before 1991. (Ellen Creager/Detroit Free Press/MCT)

Many levels of balconies can be seen aboard Carnival Dream. Cruise ship lines have added more and more balconies, but they were nearly unheard of before 1991. (Ellen Creager/Detroit Free Press/MCT)

Photo: McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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John and Susan Safranski of Livonia always choose a balcony cabin. This cabin on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas was the spot they spent most of their time. (Courtesy John Safranski via Detroit Free Press/MCT) less

John and Susan Safranski of Livonia always choose a balcony cabin. This cabin on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas was the spot they spent most of their time. (Courtesy John Safranski via Detroit Free ... more

Photo: McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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A private balcony on a cruise ship is a place of serenity - and that's why balcony cabins are most popular. This is the western Caribbean off a balcony on Carnival Dream. (Courtesy Gail Burnett via Detroit Free Press/MCT) less

A private balcony on a cruise ship is a place of serenity - and that's why balcony cabins are most popular. This is the western Caribbean off a balcony on Carnival Dream. (Courtesy Gail Burnett via Detroit Free ... more

But now many travelers refuse to cruise if they don't have a balcony cabin.

“The first couple times I cruised I had a porthole window, but the third time I went to the balcony room, and I never went back after that,” said Peggy Earo of Cary, N.C., who on this cruise has a balcony cabin on Deck 2 not far above the ocean swells. “It's a sense of airiness. It's very calming and soothing. I like to see the storms and the waves, the sunrise and the sunset.

Eighty percent of cabins on the new Regal Princess ship debuting in May will have balconies. Sleek new river-cruise lines are inventing ways to give guests true balconies instead of just a railing. And big cruise lines keep making their balcony (also called veranda) cabins ever more elaborate.

“I would never book an inside stateroom,” said John Safranski of Livonia, Mich., who has taken 10 cruises and has an 11th already booked. “It doesn't get much better than sipping Champagne out on the balcony as we cruise into the sunset.”

Balcony cabins cost about 25 percent more than inside cabins. But that is less of a price difference than a few years ago.

“Back in the day, it could have been 75 percent to 100 percent more expensive to get a balcony, there were so few of them,” said cruise analyst Stewart Chiron of Miami-based the Cruise Guy. These days, “it would be crazy to build a ship that doesn't have them. ... Without a doubt they are the most popular cabins on a cruise.”

He says what is going away are “ocean-view” cabins — cabins that have window views of the water but no way to sit outside.

And even inside cabins these days are being tricked out with “virtual balconies.” The new Royal Caribbean Quantum of the Seas class of ships debuting in November will have soothing video of the ocean broadcast on an interior wall, giving the feel of a balcony cabin if not the bracing reality.

More Information

Balcony cabin or not?

If the price difference is 25 percent or less compared to an inside cabin.

If you are taking an Alaska or Mediterranean cruise with amazing scenery the whole way. Get a cabin on the side that will face land.

If you want more space.

If you get seasick or are claustrophobic. A balcony lets you see the horizon.

If you can afford it. Even a small balcony makes you feel grand.

Not that long ago, cruise-ship balcony cabins were for the few and the affluent, if ships offered them at all.

Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas was considered one of the first truly modern cruise ships in 1991. It offered balconies for 5 percent of its cabins, and that was a big deal. Ships built in the 2000s offered about 25 percent to 45 percent balcony cabins.

Now, all new ships offer balconies on more than 65 percent of rooms. River cruise lines, including Viking and AMA, also are adding balconies.

And the price differential is shrinking.

The Detroit Free Press looked at prices on seven cruise lines and ships for a typical seven-day Caribbean cruise in November. We found a price premium of 18 percent-34 percent over an inside cabin — but deals to be had, such as an $849 balcony cabin price on the new Regal Princess, just $150 more than an interior cabin.

Frequent cruisers may even be able to get a better deal.

Myron Thompson of Omaha, Nebraska, for example, is diamond loyalty level on Carnival because he has taken 50 Carnival cruises.

He does not need to book a balcony cabin to get one.

“If you are a past guest and book it early enough, you will get a two-category upgrade,” said Thompson, who once got an aft (back) corner cabin with a wrap-around veranda.

With a balcony like that, a person can see both where they've been and where they are going. And it's a long way from Omaha.